The Student Room Group

I got an E in Chemistry for AS, should i give up?

so for my AS grades i got an A in English Lit, C in Biology, C in Psychology and and E in Chemistry. I feel like i really struggled with the Chemistry exams because of the maths styled questions despite revising a ton. I want to take on Chemistry on for A2 for medicine and my teacher is willing to help too. But i feel like its practically impossible for me to go from an E to an A at A2,
But im so conflicted because i'm really adamant on doing it but if i really put my head down would it be possible for me to achieve that grade in a year?

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
Possibly. But it might be worth considering what you want to do if you don't get the grades. From what I understand, medical schools don't look too highly on resits. Would you consider nursing, for example? My partner got similar grades, and he got into a decent uni to study adult nursing and graduated with a first. And he's now working at band 6. If your goal is to work in healthcare, it's worth considering. As are allied health professions like occupational therapy and physiotherapy.
Reply 2
right so i had results day 3days back. i went on with 4 and got an E in my 4th which was expected as i never gave my subject time. on the other hand, some people dropped and got 3A*s. i personally don't regret continuing with 4. officially, i have 4 a level passes and if i would have to go through clearing that subject would boost my ucas points. i still got into my firm and i'm happy. it really depends what you want to do. people say if you only have 3 there are less chances of getting into oxford but people from our college still got interviews with 3. and besides, you definitely won't get into any good uni with 4 bad grades. if you need chem for your course then you should cary on with it unless you decide to change your course. idk about chemistry for sure, but you might want to ask what % of the paper is maths and if you can still get a B or above if you didnt do any maths questions.
Sounds like you're not going to fair well next year in chem, especially if like you said you revised loads for it. From your grades you appear to be good at writing, have you considered dropping one/two subjects and taking another essay subject next year? How much did you revise for your other exams? How hard did you work throughout the year? What did you get at GCSE level maths?
Reply 4
Original post by bobbythedog
so for my AS grades i got an A in English Lit, C in Biology, C in Psychology and and E in Chemistry. I feel like i really struggled with the Chemistry exams because of the maths styled questions despite revising a ton. I want to take on Chemistry on for A2 for medicine and my teacher is willing to help too. But i feel like its practically impossible for me to go from an E to an A at A2,
But im so conflicted because i'm really adamant on doing it but if i really put my head down would it be possible for me to achieve that grade in a year?


You need to ask your teachers for advice. I'd be concerned that you are putting all your chips on medicine but are struggling with maths style questions. Have you tried UKCAT? That could be tough if maths is not your thing.
Original post by bobbythedog
so for my AS grades i got an A in English Lit, C in Biology, C in Psychology and and E in Chemistry. I feel like i really struggled with the Chemistry exams because of the maths styled questions despite revising a ton. I want to take on Chemistry on for A2 for medicine and my teacher is willing to help too. But i feel like its practically impossible for me to go from an E to an A at A2,
But im so conflicted because i'm really adamant on doing it but if i really put my head down would it be possible for me to achieve that grade in a year?


The maths aspect of chemistry is always easier if you do a-level maths as well (same with physics).

It depends how you feel. You can definitely turn an E into a B or A in a year with a LOT of hard work (it will be hard though). Just spend around 30 minutes on chemistry each day since day 1 and you should be fine. (Or 1 hour every other day, depends what you want). Make sure you try and understand rather than "just know that that's the answer". But I don't know how you feel, I personally like maths, but if it's not your thing - or if chemistry is not your thing - you may want to reconsider your choices of subjects. Going from an E to an A or A* is doable with a lot of hard work. You have to ask yourself if YOU can do it for THIS subject and if you really WANT to.
(edited 5 years ago)
Reply 6
Original post by bobbythedog
so for my AS grades i got an A in English Lit, C in Biology, C in Psychology and and E in Chemistry. I feel like i really struggled with the Chemistry exams because of the maths styled questions despite revising a ton. I want to take on Chemistry on for A2 for medicine and my teacher is willing to help too. But i feel like its practically impossible for me to go from an E to an A at A2,
But im so conflicted because i'm really adamant on doing it but if i really put my head down would it be possible for me to achieve that grade in a year?



I can relate to this, when I was doing my AS level I wanted to do medicine and was struggling. If you are adamant to do medicine you can..

- continue Eng, Bio, Chem, try really hard to get the grades. Bare in mind you will be doing almost twice as much Chem with resits (very stressful). Plus you will have trouble applying with resits.

- consider a course which will lead into medicine, graduate medicine or a foundation year of some kind. (I did a foundation year, but at that point I decided against medicine).

If you choose to drop Chem, you can still do the graduate or foundation year route. You risk potentially jeopardising your chances of going to university at all if you choose to continue with Chem. I did and I ended up having to take a 3rd year and ultimately a Foundation year (in Eng). I had a lot of specific reasons behind why I couldn’t succeed during A-levels, and I truly hated the experience. I choose the harder route, which has ended up being the longest. I am not sure I would recommend it. Also, getting into medicine wont be the end of the hard work, having known a lot of medical students...it seems as through they are continuously struggling their way through. It is a very hard degree, there is a reason they are seeking such high grades. I feel like a dodged a bullet there :K:. It is possible to improve from an E to an A, and if you do go for it .... I can't stress enough how much work you are in for. I would recommend considering alternate ways to get to the path you want to go.
Original post by katf
Possibly. But it might be worth considering what you want to do if you don't get the grades. From what I understand, medical schools don't look too highly on resits. Would you consider nursing, for example? My partner got similar grades, and he got into a decent uni to study adult nursing and graduated with a first. And he's now working at band 6. If your goal is to work in healthcare, it's worth considering. As are allied health professions like occupational therapy and physiotherapy.



if i was to carry on with english, psychology and biology, im not really sure on what course i could do at university. But yeah, i guess i should look at other healthcare courses other than medicine.
Original post by unippl
right so i had results day 3days back. i went on with 4 and got an E in my 4th which was expected as i never gave my subject time. on the other hand, some people dropped and got 3A*s. i personally don't regret continuing with 4. officially, i have 4 a level passes and if i would have to go through clearing that subject would boost my ucas points. i still got into my firm and i'm happy. it really depends what you want to do. people say if you only have 3 there are less chances of getting into oxford but people from our college still got interviews with 3. and besides, you definitely won't get into any good uni with 4 bad grades. if you need chem for your course then you should cary on with it unless you decide to change your course. idk about chemistry for sure, but you might want to ask what % of the paper is maths and if you can still get a B or above if you didnt do any maths questions.


Yeah im definitely only carry only carrying on with 3 alevels, if i am going to carry on with chemistry, i'm dropping english lit because i dont really need that for my course. im going to work on the maths aspects and ask for my papers back to see where i went wrong. Thanks
Original post by joelcarter
Sounds like you're not going to fair well next year in chem, especially if like you said you revised loads for it. From your grades you appear to be good at writing, have you considered dropping one/two subjects and taking another essay subject next year? How much did you revise for your other exams? How hard did you work throughout the year? What did you get at GCSE level maths?


I only really revised my notes, but didnt try any past papers or exam technique. but yeah i cant drop any of my other subjects because if i were to do that i would have to resit year 12 all over again and i dont want to do that. if i was to carry on with english, psych and bio i dont know what course i would wanna do with them.
The least i revised for was probably english lit and the same amounts for the other 3.
i got a 6 in gcse maths which is a B. Im not that good when it comes to maths
Original post by ajj2000
You need to ask your teachers for advice. I'd be concerned that you are putting all your chips on medicine but are struggling with maths style questions. Have you tried UKCAT? That could be tough if maths is not your thing.


So i've asked my Chemistry teacher and he does go he'll help out as i may be able to do it, but it really is up to me as it is a risk.
I've always had my eyes on medicine which is a shame as i didnt really look at the other courses i couldve done.
And no i have haven't tried it yet, i'm signing up for it once i come to a decision.
Reply 11
Original post by bobbythedog
so for my AS grades i got an A in English Lit, C in Biology, C in Psychology and and E in Chemistry. I feel like i really struggled with the Chemistry exams because of the maths styled questions despite revising a ton. I want to take on Chemistry on for A2 for medicine and my teacher is willing to help too. But i feel like its practically impossible for me to go from an E to an A at A2,
But im so conflicted because i'm really adamant on doing it but if i really put my head down would it be possible for me to achieve that grade in a year?


It's definitely possible, but I need to know how you approach studying? What's your study technique like? Often times a few simple tweaks can get your grades up 3 fold. E.g. I was getting E's in my biology mocks during AS, then I looked at how to answer the questions properly and I went up to an A.

Also, check with medical school requirements whether they will accept the subjects you're studying. From when I applied, universities were looking for Bio, Chem and at least an A in Maths/Physics
Original post by ScrewTheExams
The maths aspect of chemistry is always easier if you do a-level maths as well (same with physics).

It depends how you feel. You can definitely turn an E into a B or A in a year with a LOT of hard work (it will be hard though). Just spend around 30 minutes on chemistry each day since day 1 and you should be fine. (Or 1 hour every other day, depends what you want). Make sure you try and understand rather than "just know that that's the answer". But I don't know how you feel, I personally like maths, but if it's not your thing - or if chemistry is not your thing - you may want to reconsider your choices of subjects. Going from an E to an A or A* is doable with a lot of hard work. You have to ask yourself if YOU can do it for THIS subject and if you really WANT to.


To be honest, i've always struggled with maths but if i were to carry on chemistry, i'd get a tutor for help and start work from day 1 of Year 13. I want to do it, but i also have the feeling of i wont be able to do it or i wont achieve that A next year, which is what is making me not carry on. If i wasnt to carry on i dont know what i would do in uni with psych, bio and chemistry.
I didn't take chemistry, but last year I got an E in as law. I retook my exams this year (as law was modular) and ended up getting an A in as law and a B overall. As I said I didn't take chemistry so I can't tell you specifically about that, but with hard work it is possible to improve from an E to an A. It will take a lot of hard work though, but if you're willing to put the work in it is achievable. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
Original post by bobbythedog
Yeah im definitely only carry only carrying on with 3 alevels, if i am going to carry on with chemistry, i'm dropping english lit because i dont really need that for my course. im going to work on the maths aspects and ask for my papers back to see where i went wrong. Thanks

Let me know if you need any help with maths, just send it to me. I'm going to be doing it at uni along with computer science. I liked and was pretty good at core maths (done old spec). I didn't really like statistics and Mechanics though, probably because I haven't spent a minute revising them I just neglected them as I found them tiring and confusing, And not fun :biggrin:

What do you struggle with in maths?

I strongly recommend ExamSolutions website and the videos on their, as well as doing the past paper questions on physicsandmathstutor (they also got physics and chem and maybe bio) and you can do questions by topic to work on topics you don't like, and watch ExamSolutions videos to learn them.

HegartyMaths also has decent videos on YouTube for maths, Like ExamSolutions (but ExamSolutions is more popular)

Good luck!

P.s. what did you get in GCSE maths? I find that people with B-A* (but preferably High A-A*) in our old spec maths were able to get at least a B in a level (although some of them got Es and Ds at AS) in my school.
(edited 5 years ago)
Original post by bobbythedog
To be honest, i've always struggled with maths but if i were to carry on chemistry, i'd get a tutor for help and start work from day 1 of Year 13. I want to do it, but i also have the feeling of i wont be able to do it or i wont achieve that A next year, which is what is making me not carry on. If i wasnt to carry on i dont know what i would do in uni with psych, bio and chemistry.

Honestly, if you do that and work hard since the start if year 13 (or even now) all the way to your exam you should get a B-A* in maths, the exact grade will depend on how much you work and the luck you get in your exams.

In our school we had a "lower set" class which had people that achieved a B in GCSE maths (so 6 in new spec) and higher set class which had people with an A or above in gcse (so 7+ in New spec). Some people in the higher set got E-D for AS, a few C grades and one A grade. Everyone in the lower set got a U or E grade. People with a U had to drop it. Some people with the E continued it. Everyone in A2 got a minimum of a B grade, And one person who was in the lower set and got an E in AS started working hard and halfway through year 13 he became one of the best, of not the best, in the whole A2 class (in A2 there was only 1 class, in AS there were 2: higher and lower sets).

You can definitely make your dreams come true if you work hard!

Once again, if you need any help with maths let me know.

ExamSolutions + past paper questions (physicsandmaths tutor) is all you need in all honesty. Some other sources, Like Solomon papers and Madas Maths papers also help but I never done them, I prefer actual past paper questions.

Good luck to you, let me know if you need help with maths (preferable core/pure maths as I don't like statistics and Mechanics and spent no time on them and forgot them already :biggrin:)
Original post by IfYouCanDreamIt
I didn't take chemistry, but last year I got an E in as law. I retook my exams this year (as law was modular) and ended up getting an A in as law and a B overall. As I said I didn't take chemistry so I can't tell you specifically about that, but with hard work it is possible to improve from an E to an A. It will take a lot of hard work though, but if you're willing to put the work in it is achievable. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

That tends to be easier for modular subjects and harder for new spec Physics, chemistry, biology and other difficult subjects, not sure why. But it is true that with hard work you can definitely over turn your grades and get top grades.
Reply 17
I got an E in a-level maths, resat and then got an A...anything is possible if you try! :biggrin:
Original post by HGS345
It's definitely possible, but I need to know how you approach studying? What's your study technique like? Often times a few simple tweaks can get your grades up 3 fold. E.g. I was getting E's in my biology mocks during AS, then I looked at how to answer the questions properly and I went up to an A.

Also, check with medical school requirements whether they will accept the subjects you're studying. From when I applied, universities were looking for Bio, Chem and at least an A in Maths/Physics


So usually my studying is making notes in depth but then i don't use them as much, nor did i use a lot of past paper questions especially for chemistry. But what i really did was look over my notes the day before the exam.
I've looked into universities and they've said a levels in Bio and Chem is necessary and a B grade in GCSE Maths.
But what was your study techniques and how did you improve? I really appreciate the help.
Reply 19
If you got an a E in AS then there is no really point continuing it as you will most likely struggle. Don’t carry on something that you struggled on.